Swiss Abroad

“In Afghanistan we focus on the progress”

This content was published on Oct 26, 2010 Benoît Meyer-Bisch, a 30-year-old lawyer, has been working in Afghanistan for two years as a human rights advisor for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). swissinfo.ch: You work in Kabul to improve human rights. What, concretely, do you do? Benoît Meyer-Bisch: I’ve actually got three roles. First, I’m in charge of coordinating projects…

Swiss Politics

Switzerland slips in transparency ratings

This content was published on Oct 26, 2010 In the index drawn up by the organisation Transparency International and published on Tuesday, Switzerland was awarded 8.7 points, its lowest score since 2003. Last year it had nine. One reason for its poorer showing was its lack of regulations governing the way political parties are financed. The organisation’s local section, Transparency International Switzerland, says…

Swiss Politics

Defining “Swissness” is a tricky task

This content was published on Oct 26, 2010 Yet defining terms like “Swiss” and “Made in Switzerland” is proving to be a difficult task. On October 15, the House of Representatives committee for legal affairs announced that it would need more time to address the issue. It has decided to create a subcommittee to delve deeper into the 144-page dispatch handed down from…

Swiss Politics

Posters linking Gaddafi and crime spark inquiry

This content was published on Oct 25, 2010 Voters are set to go to the ballot box on November 28 to determine whether foreigners who commit crimes in Switzerland should be automatically deported. A group that backs the measure, the Geneva Citizens Movement, created posters that show lists of daily police arrests and a photo of Gaddafi with the words “he wants to…

Swiss Politics

Swiss set to tax some British accounts

This content was published on Oct 25, 2010 Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz and British tax secretary David Gauke established guidelines for the negotiations, which will include establishing a new withholding tax on certain British deposits. There will be no automatic exchanges of information. Merz’s office said in a statement that the negotiations would preserve Swiss banking secrecy laws because British authorities would have…

Swiss Politics

Rich Germans nervously await Swiss tax deal

This content was published on Oct 25, 2010 This week, Switzerland and Germany will sign up to negotiate a double taxation accord. It is reported that bank clients will remain anonymous provided they pay back-dated and future taxes to Germany. The Swiss finance ministry said on Monday that German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble would travel to Bern to sign the agreement on Thursday…

Swiss Politics

Bill motors towards tougher road rules

This content was published on Oct 24, 2010 Ten years in the making, the transport ministry’s Via Sicura package of measures has gradually been watered down from an initial 56 to a final 23 steps as a result of objections coming from different quarters. Gone are the most divisive points, such as plans to make helmets compulsory for cyclists – an idea rejected…

Swiss Politics

Concerns over Geneva’s new luxury villa owners

This content was published on Oct 23, 2010 While some local officials welcome their recent arrival, others are concerned as lakeside mansions that have soared in value over a short period are snapped up. There are also suspicions of money laundering. In Geneva’s “Beverly Hills”, chic communes like Cologny, Anières and Vandoeuvres, which stretch northeast of the city alongside the lake and which…

Swiss Politics

Bern still not sure about its seat on IMF board

This content was published on Oct 23, 2010 However, Bern has taken note of Saturday’s decision by the G20 group of finance ministers and central bank governors on IMF reforms. According to the IMF’s managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Europeans have agreed to give up two of the nine seats they occupy in the organisation. This would allow emerging nations to have more weight…

Swiss Politics

High-power panelists argue over food security

This content was published on Oct 22, 2010 A high-power panel discussion that included Nestlé CEO Peter Brabeck, the director general of the World Trade Organization, Pascal Lamy, as well as a UN food security envoy and representatives of African producers showed that overcoming divisions and skepticism between business leaders and farmers remains a daunting task. “When economists meet to talk about agriculture,…

Swiss Abroad

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Swiss Abroad

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“In Afghanistan we focus on the progress”

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Switzerland slips in transparency ratings

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Defining “Swissness” is a tricky task

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Posters linking Gaddafi and crime spark inquiry

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Swiss set to tax some British accounts

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Rich Germans nervously await Swiss tax deal

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Bill motors towards tougher road rules

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Concerns over Geneva’s new luxury villa owners

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Bern still not sure about its seat on IMF board

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High-power panelists argue over food security

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